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This June 22, 2016, photo released by the National Park Service shows kitten siblings P-50, P-51, and P-52 in the eastern Santa Susana Mountains. The eight-month-old female P-51 was recently killed on 118 Freeway near Simi Valley. Her body was found Jan. 14, 2017. P-39, the lion’s mother, and P-52, the young lion’s sibling, both died on the same freeway in separate incidents in December. (National Park Service via AP, File)

With the death of a young mountain lion on a local freeway announced Friday, wildlife advocates and authorities have once again put a spotlight on the need for crossings and measures that could make it safer for animals to coexist with people.

An 8-month-old female mountain lion — named P-51 — was killed by a vehicle on the 118 Freeway, 1 mile east of the Rocky Peak exit near Simi Valley, the same area where the cougar’s mother — and later her sibling — were struck and killed in December, authorities said.

It was a particular blow to many who have been pushing for measures to preserve the mountain lion population in a corridor where they say the cats have roamed long before freeways were built.

“It’s just hard. It’s always pretty devastating news when we lose one,” said Beth Pratt-Burgstrom, California director of the National Wildlife Federation. “These roads are really tough for them.”

It was particularly tough because the most recent death was the third in a family of cats — all fatally struck on the same stretch near the Santa Susana Mountains — in a matter of weeks.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife collected the animal’s carcass on Jan. 14, National Park Service officials said. Researchers identified the lion kitten as P-51.

P-39, the cougar’s mother, was struck and killed on the same freeway on Dec. 3. P-52, the young lion’s sibling, died on Dec. 20.

Officials said that P-52’s necropsy revealed that the male was thin and weighed 24 pounds but had adequate internal fat reserves and recently ate a skunk.

“It was positive to see that P-52 had recently fed,” said March Kenyon, Fish and Wildlife’s Mountain Lion Conservation Program coordinator, in a statement. “Whether or not these kittens had the ability to feed was a subject of much discussion. “Apparently, their mother had taught them predatory skills within their first six to seven months, and we’re hopefully the necropsy on P-51 confirms this, too.”

The death of P-51 is the 17th known case of a mountain lion killed on a freeway or road in or around the Santa Monica Mountains since 2002, officials added.

The area where the mountain lions were killed is part of a “critical wildlife connection” to the Los Padres National Forest that has been called “the promised land for mountain lions” due to its vast, undeveloped terrain.

That area extends from the 101 Freeway and the Santa Monica Mountains on the south to north of the 118 Freeway in the Los Padres National Forest.

Many of the animals still successfully cross the 118, where commercial development is not as dense, experts say. But their kin farther south essentially have been cut off from the corridor by the 101 and the more populated areas around it, leading to inbreeding and predictions that the local mountain lion population will eventually die out.

P-52’s death once again has advocates and wildlife authorities pointing to the need for crossings and safeguards that could protect the animals.

“Unfortunately this case illustrates the challenges for mountain lions in the region, where roads are both major barriers to movement and potential sources of mortality,” said Dr. Seth Riley, wildlife ecologist for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, in a statement on P-51’s death. “The area where these animals were killed is part of a critical wildlife corridor that connects the genetically isolated population in the Santa Monica Mountains to what is considered the nearest source population, in Los Padres National Forest.”

At the 118, a hiker/equestrian tunnel that has occasionally been used as an undercrossing is located near where the deaths occurred, but officials say the area lacks adequate wildlife fencing to direct animals to the tunnel.

The possibility of fencing has given Pratt-Burgstrom some hope for the animals’ safety.

“If you put in a long enough fence that funnels them to the only place they can cross, wildlife will follow that,” she said.

The tougher issue is the 101 crossing, which is in the works.

Officials and wildlife advocates envision a safe crossing for mountain lions and other animals. In 2015, the state unveiled a $30 million, 200-foot bridge proposal that would span Highway 101 at Liberty Canyon in Agoura Hills. It would give wildlife back-and-forth access between the Santa Monica Mountains and the Santa Susana Mountains.

Caltrans has been working with local authorities and leaders to make the crossing happen. An early goal was to begin construction by 2018.

“Caltrans is aware of the need to protect the biological diversity of the region,” said Carrie Bowen, Caltrans District 7 director. “To that end, we are working with our partners to study the feasibility for wildlife passage and protection.”